NEWS

French composer, virtuoso accordionist Richard Galliano composed a new melody in Tatarstan capital and named it “Kazan”. It was announced at the press-conference, which took place at “Pyramid” centre on April 8. The 6th festival of French jazz “Le Jazz” opened in Kazan as a part of the Year of France in Russia.

Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov listened to reports on readiness of Yelabuga's infrastructure for hosting the 8th All-Russian Rural Sport Games on April 9.

Tatarstan plans to roll out production of immunobiological and biopharmaceutical medicines. The project will be participated by the government of Tatarstan, Mexican firm Probiomed and the Biotechnology CIS company. The Tatarstan-Mexican pharmaceutical project Bionovax is implemented within a strategy involving the development of biotechnologies and establishing a pharmaceutical cluster in Tatarstan, the acting Tatarstan economy minister Marat Safiullin told a news conference, attended by representatives from the Mexican firm, at the Tatarstan Economy Ministry.

The Biotechnology CIS director Vitaly Granovsky noted the project stipulated the establishment of an integrated pharmaceutical company, to comprise two modules, one producing pharmaceuticals and the other developing new technologies to manufacture new medicines.

Mayor of Yelabuga Ilshat Gafurov has been appointed Rector of Kazan (Volga) Federal University, which is being created on the basis of Kazan State University).

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin introduced a new rector at the session on modernization of higher professional education in Novosibirsk on April 8. This is Mayor of the Elabuga city, one of “Alabuga” special economic zone founders Ilshat Gafurov. Myakzyum Salakhov has headed Kazan State University since 2002.

Tatarstan delegation headed by Acting Vice-Premier of Tatarstan – Minister of Culture Zilya Valeyeva left for Andhra Pradesh state, the Republic of India on April 8. The Republic of Tatarstan representatives pay an official visit to India on April 8-13. Tatarstan delegation will hold a meeting with Andhra Pradesh State Minister of Industry, Commerce and Export Promotion, and Foodstuff. Protocol on realization of a cooperation agreement between Tatarstan Government and Andhra Pradesh State Government will be signed.

A working meeting of Zilya Valeyeva and Russia’s Consul General in Chennai city N. Listopadov is scheduled on April 9. Afterwards, Tatarstan delegation will examine IT-park of India.

Tatarstan has commenced the spring farm work, the first being farmers in the Muslumov, Sarmanov and Aznakaev municipal districts, reports the Agriculture Ministry’s press service.

Permanent grasses and winter crops in these territories are given additional fertilising. In general, the work is to be performed on a space of over 1 million hectares in Tatarstan.

The sowing campaign is this year planned on a space of 1.6 million hectares, including 899.7 thousand hectares with spring cereals, 175.9 thousand hectares with technical cultures – rapeseed and sugar beet – and 436 thousand hectares with fodder.

The “IT Summit 2010. A Meeting of Industry Captains” conference has today opened in Kazan. The Association of Computer and Information Technologies Enterprises, KIT, executive director Nikolai Komlev said at the forum’s opening at the Mirage Hotel that the IT Summit had originally been planned to be held each time in a new Russian important city. From 2003, however, the summit was for a few years been confined to Saint-Petersburg. Getting back to the original idea, the decision was made to arrange the IT Summit 2010 in Kazan. The choice was not random as Tatarstan is in terms of IT technologies an advanced region.

The Tatarstan acting minister of informatisation and communication Farit Fazylzyanov read out a welcome message from the President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov. “I am glad that Tatarstan and our republic’s capital, the millennial Kazan, have been chosen as the conference venue. We place our stakes on innovative economy, based on science-intensive and high-technology production. This is our strategic choice. Developing IT technologies is undoubtedly a foundation for an innovative economy and the region’s prosperity. To set a course for the IT branch’s further development in the republic, the Intellectual Tatarstan 2020 infocommunication technologies strategy is being implemented,” reads in particular the President of Tatarstan’s welcoming message. The head of Tatarstan wished all the summit’s participants effective work and success.

The world’s largest high-technology corporation Honeywell is interested in cooperating with Kamaz, the Honeywell Russia director for strategy and business development Leonid Sorokin has today told a news conference marking the opening of a Honeywell office in Kazan.

“We have a great interest in cooperating with Kamaz in the business area of turbochargers. We are an acknowledged player on the world market in this type of business. Our company produces turbochargers unique in terms of energy saving and we are convinced a Russian industrial leader like Kamaz can cooperated with us,” said Leonid Sorokin. “We will elaborate on the issue with the Tatarstan Ministry of Industry and Trade,” he stressed.

“Magic Alliance” concert with participation of French singer and harp player Gwenael Kerleo will be held at “Ak Bars” Youth Centre on April 21. The event is organized as part of the Year of France in Russia and Year of Russia in France by the French Language and Culture Centre “Alliance Francaise-Kazan” and “Avrora 1991” gallery.